Treatment of artificial silk packages



April 18, 1939. D. HOUTZAAGER TREATMENT OF ARTIFICIAL SILK PACKAGES Filed July27, 1957 Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TREATMENT OF ARTIFICIAL SILK PACKAGES Application July 27, 1937, Serial No. 156,002 In Germany August 4, 1936 3 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of artificial silk, and more particularly to a process and an apparatus for the protection of freshly spun packages of artificial silk during the after treating operations.

The invention in its broader conception relates not only to the protection of artificial silk cakes spun by the centrifugal process, but also may be applied to bobbin spun packages that have been first twisted and removed from their internal supports. The problems relative to both types of packages become analogous after the inserts have been removed from the latter type.

My invention may be practiced in connection with any of the known processes for the manufacture of artificial silk, such as the viscose, the cellulose acetate, the cuprammonium and the nitrocellulose process, but for the sake of convenience will be described in its application to the viscose process.

In the manufacture of artificial silk according to the viscose pot spinning process, the spinning solution is extruded through spinnerets having minute orifices into an acid spinning bath wherein coagulation occurs to form filaments. The filaments are withdrawn from the bath and, by way of guides and rollers, are conducted into a centrifugal spinning bucket wherein the threads are simultaneously twisted and collected to form a cake of yarn. The cake is then removed from the spinning bucket and subjected to various treating processes by forcing liquids, hot air, et cetera, through the walls of the cake under pressure, and during such operations numerous difiiculties have been encountered.

Due to the fact that the cake, upon removal from the spinning pot, consists of an unsupported annular mass of delicate, filamentous threads, the threads on the interior thereof are subject to raveling, entanglement and breakage under the pressure of the treating elements, and it is essential that the cake be adequately protected at every stage of its treatment. Particularly is it desirable to protect the inner edges of the cake from crumbling, causing the threads to slip away fro-m the package and form atangled mass of loose threads on the interior of the cake, thus rendering subsequent manufacturing operations extremely diificult or impossible.

In one method of procedure heretofore practiced, a cloth sleeve was inserted into the interior of the cake, folded around the walls of the cake and held in place by means of a binding tape wound spirally around the package. Obviously, however, this method was troublesome,

required considerable time and was, therefore, costly. Furthermore, this method was not entirely successful for the reason that the mere wrapping of the yarn package failed to prevent the edges of the cake from crumbling and the consequent loosening of the threads.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a method and means of quickly and adequately furnishing protection for the cake during subsequent treating operations, and at low cost.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from a study of the detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein I Figure 1 shows a plan view of a suitable type cover member for the cake;

Figures 2 to 6, inclusive, exemplify cross-sectional views of the cake taken during the several stages of applying the protective means; and

Figure '7 is a plan view of the insert member.

Referring to Figure l, the numeral 2 designates a cover member, preferably made of a flexible material such as paper, for example parchment, and having a plurality of slits 3 formed therein and radiating outwardly from the center to form flaps t. This cover member may be perforated, is circular in form and is approximately equal in diameter to the outer diameter of the cake. Cover member 2 is placed upon the upper face of the cake I (Figure 2), and is held in position by means of a ring member made of any suitable material having sufficient weight to maintain the cover member pressed against the face of the cake, and having a center opening equal to or greater than the inner diameter of the cake.

After depositing the cover member 2 on the top face of the cake, the flaps 4- are spread into and against the interior wall of the cake and a thin sleeve 6 inserted to retain the flaps in position (Figure 3). The punching inward and spreading of the flaps 4 may be accomplished by hand or by other means as an independent operation, or the operation may be accomplished simultaneously with the insertion of the sleeve 6.

The ring member 5 is now removed and the cake inverted so that the opposite face is uppermost, as shown in Figure 4. A cover member 2 is laid upon the face of the cake and the ring member 5 applied as before. The flaps 4 are punched inward as shown in Figure 5, and a cylindrical sleeve 1, whose height is substantially equivalent to that of the cake I, is inserted to cover the flaps 4 and 4', as well as the sleeve 6. If desired, a sleeve similar to sleeve 6 may be first inserted to retain flaps 4. Sleeve 1 is prefer'ably perforated to facilitate the passage of treating agents, and may be in the form of a solid cylinder designed to fit the interior of the cake or of a rectangular sheet rolled into the form of a cylinder adapted to meet variations in the diameter of the cake. As to the material of which sleeves 6 and 7 are made, I have found that cellulose is well adapted to the purpose for which it is intended, since it is not only fluidpermeable in itself, but is sufficiently elastic to adhere to the inner Wall of the cake and, in addition, will not collapse after wet treatment of the cake.

The cake may now be placed in the usual aftertreating apparatus and subjected to washing, desulphurizing, bleaching and drying without danger of injury to the delicate filaments. The danger of threads on the edges and interior of the cake becoming loosened, entangled and broken during treatment is successfully avoided by a simple and efficient process and apparatus, with a minimum of time and at minimum cost.

Although having described only one form of my invention, it is to be understood that changes may be made in the form and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for protecting artificial silk cakes comprising a cover member for each of the opposing faces of the cake, said cover members having radial slits therein forming flaps substantially equal to the length of the interior radius of said cake and a. fluid-permeable sleeve adapted to maintain the flaps in position against the inner wall of the cake, said sleeve being of substantially the same height as the cake.

2. A protected package of artificial silk suitable for pressure treatment comprising an artificial silk cake, perforated flexible discs having sector-shaped flaps adapted to cover the faces of said cake, at least one retaining ring member for hearing against the flaps when they are spread against the inner wall of the cake, a perforated expandable sleeve positioned with the interior of the cake forming a continuing cover supplementing the top and bottom cover.

3. A protective covering for artificial silk cakes comprising a circular cover member for each of the opposing faces of the cake, said cover mem bers having radial slits therein forming flaps adapted to be spread against the inner wall of the cake, means for retaining the flaps in position and a fluid-permeable, expandable sleeve adapted to bear against the flap retaining means and inner Wall of the cake.

DIRK HOUTZAAGER.

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